Route 23 designated as Medal of Honor Grove Highway

SCHUYLKILL -- Gov. Tom Corbett signed into law a measure that designates part of Route 23 as the Medal of Honor Grove Highway, coinciding with other events honoring the memorial site and those it recognizes.

The legislation, which was introduced by state Sen. Andy Dinniman, applies to the section of Route 23 between Chester County's border with Montgomery County and Route 100.

The Department of Transportation will erect and maintain appropriate signs to indicate the designation, and an official renaming ceremony of the section of the road is anticipated for Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

The signing of the bill comes right before other events recognizing the Medal of Honor Grove and those who have worked to further the site's recognition.

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On Saturday, Dinniman will join six Medal of Honor recipients at the Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove's first fundraising dinner at the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge at 5 p.m. The Medal of Honor recipients planning to be present include U.S. Army Sgt. Francis S. Currey (World War II), Col. Walter Marm (Vietnam), Lt. Brian M. Thacker (Vietnam), Col. Harold A. Fritz (Vietnam), and U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. James Livingston (Vietnam) and Pvt. Hector Cafferata (Korea). Both Marm and Livingston have family living in Chester County.

"The creation of the Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove organization is a major milestone in our efforts to preserve and maintain this historic veterans memorial site," said Dinniman, D-19th, of West Whiteland. "I am proud to see that a coalition of volunteers, community leaders and Medal of Honor recipients have stepped forward to ensure it is properly cared for and protected for perpetuity."

The 52-acre Freedom Foundation's Medal of Honor Grove is the nation's oldest memorial site dedicated to Medal of Honor recipients. The site was dedicated on Oct. 1, 1964, through the efforts of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Gen. Omar Bradley, as well as others.

The grove is divided into one-acre plots for each state, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. Each plot features an obelisk and metal plaques set in the ground, honoring Medal of Honor recipients as far back as the Civil War.

The Medal of Honor is the United States' highest military honor, and since its creation in 1862, it has been earned by 346 Pennsylvanians and 3,448 individuals. The honor is bestowed upon those who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in the action against an enemy of the United States."

Also on Saturday, Dinniman and the six Medal of Honor recipients will lay a wreath on the grave of Sister Maria Veronica, who served as archivist at the Freedoms Foundation for 17 years. During her time there, she researched each Medal of Honor recipient's story and hand-wrote their citations. While the federal government offered to bury Sister Veronica at Arlington National Cemetery, she chose to instead be buried with her sisters at Immaculata.

The wreath-laying ceremony will being at 2 p.m. at Immaculata Convent Cemetery.